My neighbor knocked on the door last Saturday. He’d just moved in. Young guy. New house. He wanted to know what he should buy for his garage.
I didn’t give him a store. I gave him a list. Five things. I told him if he got these five and nothing else, he’d be set for 90 percent of the jobs that come up.
He looked at the list and said, “That’s it?”
That’s it. I’ve owned hundreds of tools. I reach for these five every week. The rest collect dust.
Your Download Link Will Expire
If you still haven't downloaded my free "Safe Trade Options Formula" guide...
...please take a few seconds and download it right now before your new temporary download link expires.
I eventually plan to charge money for this training, so do yourself a favor and download it now...
That way, no matter what it costs in the future, you'll have a free copy on your computer.
Make sense?
01. THE LIST
1
Leatherman Wave+. Around $120. Eighteen tools in a package that fits in your pocket. Pliers, two blades, a saw, scissors, screwdrivers. The blades open one-handed from the outside. I’ve carried one for over ten years. The first one lasted eight before I replaced the wire cutters. Leatherman backs it with a 25-year warranty. I use the pliers and the scissors more than any other tool I own. If you buy one thing on this list, make it this.
2
A cordless impact driver. Around $150. I use a Milwaukee M18. DeWalt and Makita make versions just as good. The point isn’t the brand. It’s having one battery system and sticking with it. An impact driver handles screws, bolts, and light drilling better than a standard drill. Once you use one, you won’t go back. Buy the bare tool and a starter battery kit.
3
A headlamp. Around $50. I use a Petzl Actik Core. Rechargeable. Bright enough to light a crawl space or a dark yard. Both hands stay free. A flashlight is fine. A headlamp is better. I keep one in the garage, one in the truck, and one in the kitchen drawer for power outages.
4
A 25-foot tape measure. Around $25. The Stanley FatMax. Wide blade. Doesn’t fold on itself. Locks solid. I’ve used cheap tapes. They bend, they slip, they break. A good tape measure costs $25 and lasts a decade. Buy the best one and stop thinking about it.
5
A fixed-blade knife. Around $40. Not a pocket knife. A full-tang fixed blade with a four-inch edge. I keep a Morakniv Companion in the garage. It costs $15 to $40 depending on the model. I use it to open boxes, cut rope, trim branches, score drywall, and pry things I probably shouldn’t. It takes a beating and sharpens in two minutes.
“The best tool is the one you actually use. Everything else is just taking up space.”
02. WHY ONLY FIVE
Because most guys have 50 tools and use five. The rest were impulse buys, gifts, or stuff they bought for one job and never touched again.
These five handle the tasks that actually come up. Tightening something. Cutting something. Driving a screw. Measuring a space. Seeing in the dark. That’s most of what a house asks of you.
A full workshop is great if you build things. But for the guy who just wants to keep his house together, these five do the job.
03. A QUESTION THE NEIGHBOR ASKED
Q. What about a drill?
A. You don’t need a drill and an impact driver. Get the impact driver. It does everything a drill does and handles screws better. If you’re drilling large holes in concrete, sure, get a hammer drill. But for 95 percent of home jobs, the impact driver is the only one you need.
04. WHAT I’D SKIP
▸ Cheap multi-tools. A $20 multi-tool from the checkout aisle will break the first time you use the pliers. Spend the $120. You’ll have it for 20 years.
▸ Corded tools. Unless you’re running a job site, go cordless. The freedom of no cord is worth the battery cost. One battery system. One charger. Done.
▸ Gadgets that solve one problem. If a tool only does one thing and that thing comes up once a year, borrow it from a neighbor. Your garage isn’t a museum.
05. THE REAL COST
All five tools together: about $360. That’s less than a single call to a handyman. And these last years.
My neighbor came back two weeks later. He’d bought the list. All five. He said the headlamp was the one that surprised him most. “I didn’t know I needed it until I had it. Now I use it every time I go in the attic.”
That’s how it works. Good tools don’t feel fancy. They feel obvious.
Buy less. Buy better. Use what you have.
— Walter
P.S. What’s the one tool you use more than any other? The one you’d replace the same day if you lost it? Hit reply. I want to see what this group reaches for.
